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Travel Scope Advice (1 Viewer)

T

tigger01

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I have a Leica APO Televid 77 which I adore ..... well until I took it on holiday to the States last year and it was a nightmare!!

I need a small, compact, lightweight travel scope as I'm heading to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia later this year. Any suggestions?

I've looked at the Mighty Midget but am worried about water/dust getting in given the sliding tube.

The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.

HELP!!!!
 
tigger01 said:
I've looked at the Mighty Midget but am worried about water/dust getting in given the sliding tube.

The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.
Click to expand...

The MM2 is a good little scope, but there are better options out there. Opticron's IS range are probably a better buy, the IS50 would be less than an MM2 and the IS60 about the same price. If you use an IS with an HDF eyepeice they are particularly good. The IS60 with HDF zoom is a cracking starter/travel scope.

The Nikon ED50 is clearly a chunk more money, but you will see the difference in image quality. The zoom on the ED50 is very good, scope and eyepeice weighs in at an amazing ~600g! If money isn't the issue then the ED50 is very hard to beat as a travel scope, but performance vs cost the IS scopes are right up there.
 
tigger01 said:
I have a Leica APO Televid 77 which I adore ..... well until I took it on holiday to the States last year and it was a nightmare!!

I need a small, compact, lightweight travel scope as I'm heading to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia later this year. Any suggestions?

I've looked at the Mighty Midget but am worried about water/dust getting in given the sliding tube.

The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.

HELP!!!!
Click to expand...
If you're already considering Opticron, the IS50 is at least as good as the MM and cheaper (about £85 I think). No sliding tube to worry about and it's pretty compact anyway. With an HDF eyepiece you've got a very good little scope in my experience.

later - I see postcardcv (above) has just beaten me too it and agrees!
 
Last edited:
level seven said:
If you're already considering Opticron, the IS50 is at least as good as the MM and cheaper (about £85 I think). No sliding tube to worry about and it's pretty compact anyway. With an HDF eyepiece you've got a very good little scope in my experience.

later - I see postcardcv (above) has just beaten me too it and agrees!
Click to expand...

I've seen the IS50 for £80 plus lens £150 for HDF zoom.
MM2 for £109 plus £150 for HDF zoom.
IS60 for £119 plus £150 for HDF zoom.

all from sherwoods

The Kowa 504ED with 15-30 zoom is available for £249 from w/express.

The Nikon is a little cracker but obviously alot more expensive.

The sliding tube would sorry me with the MM2. I asked Opticron a few years ago what they would take to some where humid and they said they had no problems with the MM2 BUT they would probably take the IS.

One for Postcard, would he pay the extra for the HDF over IS Pro Zoom (£89)
 
Last edited:
I looked at the IS50 and was very impressed. However, I think for an extra £39 the IS60 is a better bet as it only weighs an extra 93gm, should be brighter and has a bespoke stay-on cover available (unlike the IS50.)

Cley Spy weren't keen on the MM2 as they were worried that opening and closing it could suck in dust.
 
NoSpringChicken said:
Cley Spy weren't keen on the MM2 as they were worried that opening and closing it could suck in dust.
Click to expand...
It jammed on a friend's, making the scope useless. Probably unusual, but worth bearing in mind when choosing.
 
NoSpringChicken said:
Cley Spy weren't keen on the MM2 as they were worried that opening and closing it could suck in dust.
Click to expand...

Not sure who there said that to you, but it seems wrong to me (certainly not a concern I've ever heard mentioned at work). My wife has been using one for a few years with no problems at all. That said I do think the IS60 is the best of Opticron's travel scopes and it's the one I'd go for.
 
The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.

HELP!!!![/QUOTE]

Get the nikon ed 50 .You will never regret it ,its a marvelous tool .
You may never use the big one again.
Brian.
 
postcardcv said:
Not sure who there said that to you, but it seems wrong to me (certainly not a concern I've ever heard mentioned at work). My wife has been using one for a few years with no problems at all. That said I do think the IS60 is the best of Opticron's travel scopes and it's the one I'd go for.
Click to expand...
I don't know the persons's name but helped me choose a scope on a Saturday last month. I don't think he meant that they had actually had any problems but that it was a possible source of future problems.

I tried out several small, light scopes and the Opticron IS was probably the best. However, I ended up with an Acuter as it was by far the cheapest, is waterproof and comes with a cover. It's really an experiment to see if I can be bothered to carry a scope around with me (so far so good.) It's pretty good but is a bit longer and heavier than the Opticron.
 
medinabrit said:
The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.HELP!!!!
Click to expand...

The ED50 is an awesome little scope, and is a great scope overall. I much prefer the 27x over the zoom. It is my favorite all-around magnification, has a nice wide true and apparent FOV, and has better eye-relief than the zoom.
--AP
 
If you've got the Leica and love the view then I reckon anything but the ED50 is going to seem a major disappointment. I made that mistake on my first long trip East ~10 yrs ago - took a cheap travel scope :storm: - sure, it got me some birds I would have missed, but it was CR**!! I NEVER enjoyed looking through it which after all is what birding is all about - you wanna forget the optics and enjoy the birds!! (...actually that mini scope got stolen in the end - good luck to em I say!!)

Anyway, £500 may seem a lot to pay out for a second scope but you'll enjoy it for years to come with no "if onlys" !!! With optics you can fiddle about for years with mid-range models and end up spending more than if you'd bit the bullet first time round! Save up, get what you really want and get on with the birding!
...however, you might want to wait a while longer until Nikon sort out the dodgy ED50 tripod mount that's been a problem for some...
That's what I'm doing...and in the meantime enjoying my fave 613 ;)
 
David Caudwell said:
If you've got the Leica and love the view then I reckon anything but the ED50 is going to seem a major disappointment. I made that mistake on my first long trip East ~10 yrs ago - took a cheap travel scope :storm: - sure, it got me some birds I would have missed, but it was CR**!! I NEVER enjoyed looking through it which after all is what birding is all about - you wanna forget the optics and enjoy the birds!! (...actually that mini scope got stolen in the end - good luck to em I say!!)

Anyway, £500 may seem a lot to pay out for a second scope but you'll enjoy it for years to come with no "if onlys" !!! With optics you can fiddle about for years with mid-range models and end up spending more than if you'd bit the bullet first time round! Save up, get what you really want and get on with the birding!
...however, you might want to wait a while longer until Nikon sort out the dodgy ED50 tripod mount that's been a problem for some...
That's what I'm doing...and in the meantime enjoying my fave 613 ;)
Click to expand...

Totally agree if you are used to a Leica, only the Nikon 50ED will do!
 
I´ve owned MM2 (didn´t like), Kowa 502 (cute but not great), and now the ED50, with the zoom. It has become my scope of choice, except on seawatching or when not moving much. I´d strongly recommend you go for it, and fund the extra cost by clearing out some old junk at home or whatever. It is truly an unbelievable piece of kit, a joy to look through, and I´ve used it in all lights. I use a shoulder pod or a monopod, neither are perfect so I´m looking into various lightweight tripods. The mobility the ED50 affords far outweighs the loss of FOV, and to be honest there ísn´t that much lost optically compared to, for example, a Swaro HD65 or a Nikon ED82 (both of which I´ve compared it to). For general use, it´s almost as good as the best. For travelling, when mobility and light weight are paramount, it´s in a class of its own. Best of Luck!
 
Thanks guys.
I know personal preference comes into it but I believe you just can't beat advice from someone who has actually put a scope through it's paces out in the field.

ED50 wins!!
 
Blincodave said:
Totally agree if you are used to a Leica, only the Nikon 50ED will do!
Click to expand...

I second that, too. Having the opportunity for such a trip should not result in disappointments along the line of the mentioned "if only".
 
tigger01 said:
I have a Leica APO Televid 77 which I adore ..... well until I took it on holiday to the States last year and it was a nightmare!!

I need a small, compact, lightweight travel scope as I'm heading to Malaysia, Indonesia and Australia later this year. Any suggestions?

I've looked at the Mighty Midget but am worried about water/dust getting in given the sliding tube.

The only other option seems to be the Nikon ED50. Is it worth the money? And what eye peice is best? I was considering the 13-40 zoom.

HELP!!!!
Click to expand...

I bit the bullet, after receiving advice from this forum and bought the ED50. Sell your soul (for £500 quid!) and do it! You wont regret it - it's a cracker!
 
I wouldn,t be to surprised to see your leica up for sale after you have used the ED50 .
Unless you are like myself & cannot seem to let go of anything .Got about 7 spotters but use the ED 50 most of the time now.
Brian.
 
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